The Alliance: Episode Four, "Battle Royale"
by The Alliance
Summary: Not a whole lot of humor this episode, but plenty of action to make up for it. Our heroes are locked in mortal combat with Boom-Boom and Marky, while back in Odaiba, everybody's still wondering what happened to Matt and company. Hey, there are actual Digi


The Alliance

Episode Four

*checks* Yup, definitely still better. 

By Kawaii Li'l Lia, Yamato Ishida (Muse) and the Infamous Boss Reo

Reo closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, bracing for the impact of the bullet through his skull. His short life was flashing before his eyes, and he regretted never living long enough to find his peace…and Wallace, for that matter. He would've liked to at least make it to Gospel City, settle in the city, make sure 'the Alliance' was a household name, and die heroically. Instead, he was going to die after three full episodes, on a cruise ship in the middle of nowhere, not even making an attempt to fight back since he was quite sure all of his ribs had shattered in the fall. He heard the sound of the gunshot, and of Lia shrieking. There was no pain. 

"Wait a minute…" he muttered, "Shouldn't I be dead? _Am _I dead?"

He opened one eye cautiously, only to find the bullet dangling an inch above his eyebrows, in midair. Everything around him was motionless, frozen in place as the bullet hung in the air. 

"Now what the f*** is going on?" he shouted, making an attempt to poke the bullet. 

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you. Only I can," came a voice not too far away. 

"Matt?! Boy, what've you been smoking?"

The blonde hero casually walked over to his partner's side and plucked the projectile out of the air. 

"I apparently have a talent for such things. You know, like the _Matrix? _It would've been nice if Lia had told me this earlier, but hey…" 

Reo sat up, wincing at the pain in his chest. 

"So what'd you do?"

Matt smirked, tossing the bullet up into the air and catching it in his palm. "Stopped time."

"Wha? You can do that? You actually _stopped time _so this bullet wouldn't hit me? But if you stopped time, then why are we…"

The youth known as the Kaiser shrugged, his violet-tinted glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose. 

"I don't have all the answers. Coming up with answers is Lia's department; my purpose in all of this is yet to be defined. Wait…I have a definition. If I weren't here it wouldn't exactly qualify as 'Digimon' fiction anymore…even though we haven't had an actual digimon in here since episode one…but that's beside the point. I can stop time because, um, I have nothing better to do than shoot things and that's kind of a lame power. And because it's a handy plot device."

The Infamous One nodded weakly. "So, can we fix it?"

"Fix it?" Matt repeated. 

"Yeah, like, defrost everyone so we can get this goddamn fight over with?"

"Um…I…don't know. It kind of happened all of a sudden. I don't even know what I did to begin with."

Reo glared at him. "Great! Just great! You save my life, only to go messing with time and now we're stuck in a moment that we can't get out of!" 

****

You've gotta love U2…just because of Bono. 

"I'm sure there's a way to 'defrost' things…I hope."

"Well you better come up with it soon, Ishida!" he snapped. 

Matt groaned, shaking his head in disgust. 

"Why do I always get stuck with the trauma? Can't somebody else be wrought with misfortune?"

It was at that moment when Reo bounced a football off the side of Matt's head.

"I really, really hate you, Yamato." The Infamous One muttered. Just as soon as he moved did they both realize that time was going smoothly once more. 

"Guess it's only a temporary thing then." Matt shrugged and the two of them both then looked toward young Marky, gawking at where Reo once was in confusion.

~*~

Wallace opened his eyes drowsily. There was a dim light at the far end of his prison, but it didn't seem so imposing. His vision cleared as he gazed at the small light that was inserted into a lone plug outlet on the wall.

"I thought it would help you sleep better." A voice said gently. The young blonde gasped as he felt the warmth of a hand softly grasp his wrist. Yanking his arm away from his unknown roommate, he quickly crawled to the end of the bed, looking back to see who his guest was.

"Don't be afraid…" the child said. Wallace felt a rushing sensation of fear as the dark-haired boy looked at him, then casually taking off his wire-framed glasses and rubbing them clean.

"Wh…who…" Wallace began to ask.

"Vase." The boy replied, "Please forgive me, but I cant really tolerate long questions anymore…" he gently rubbed the side of his head, "They tend to give me headaches from time to time." He extended his hand out, giving Wallace a warm smile.

"Please…" he said softly. "There's no need to be scared."

~*~

Marky stared wide-eyed at the spot where the scythe-toting hero once lay. 

"How…how did you…why aren't you dead?" he stammered. 

Matt grinned, pulling one of several loaded weapons from its holster. 

"We have a way of cheating death."

"Watch your back!" Lia cried as Boom-Boom staggered towards the young blonde hero. Matt fired a round, the Professional dodging one bullet after another. 

"This is getting old," Reo sighed, clutching his scythe for support. "We end this now!" 

Boom-Boom chuckled.

"Indeed we do. It's you an' me, kid. One-on-one. Can you handle that?"

"I've managed to keep liking you this far, haven't I?" DarkScythe retorted with a smirk. 

~*~

Chah Chingg slammed his fist down on his desk, scattering papers to the floor. The wood beneath his hand cracked slightly as he uttered a bestial howl. 

"What is going on over there?! Dammit, why does nobody have the answer?"

Bling entered the office with a bottle of wine and a glass, quaking slightly. 

"Sir…"

Chingg knocked the tray out of the girl's hands, the bottle tumbling to the floor and breaking open, wine sloshing onto the floor. 

"Bling, you will get me word of what is happening on that blasted ship or I swear to God I'll…"

"Right away, Sir! I'm all over it!" she said quickly, fleeing from the room. 

~*~

Syaoran Li and the bishonen back in Tokyo sat around the television, watching the local news reports as a storm raged outside. Phantomon glided in, sitting with the group as they gaped at the report. 

"A cruise ship bound for the United States is under siege. We do not know of all the details as of yet but…wait; we have an eyewitness on the phone now as we speak! Please, ma'am, tell us what is happening out there!" the news anchor said. 

"Well, we were in the middle of dinner when all of a sudden the skylight broke and these costumed freaks fell into the dining hall! They started going at it like it was some kind of Battle Royal!" the woman cried hysterically. 

"Can you describe these 'costumed freaks' as you call them?"

"Well, there was a girl with dark gray wings, and a boy with purple sunglasses, and something like a ninja, and another person with a large scythe! Just terrible, I tell you! Like something out of a comic book or a bad Sci-Fi channel movie!"

Eriol gripped Li's hand. "Did you hear that? That's Reo and the others!" 

"They need help!" Duo added, getting up. 

"Hold it!" Phantomon glared at the rest of them, "Master Reo ordered us to stay here, and that's what we must do. The Alliance can handle things themselves. Everything will be all right."

Li glanced at the window as lightning flashed outside, "I hope so. For all our sakes."

~*~

"BOOM! BOOM!!!! BOOM!!!!!!" the aptly-named Boom-Boom shouted hysterically, throwing exploding daggers left and right, as well as small grenades as he leapt from one wall of the massive inner complex of the luxury liner. Reo jumped from the top of the elevator he was standing on and darted towards Boom-Boom's location. The maniacal ninja laughed insanely, holding another set of throwing daggers between his fingers.

"Feel that, boy?" he asked, hiding a grim smile behind the scarf he wore over his mouth, "This is what it's really like to be on Chingg's bad side! You didn't know the half of it when you left!"

"I'm surprised he hasn't found a way to shut you up yet." Reo quipped, grabbing hold of Boom's scarf. Hanging onto him, he raised his right arm back, bringing it at full speed towards Boom-Boom's face. 

Marky screamed as he squeezed the triggers of the twin colts he was holding, an onslaught of bullets rushing towards Matt as he scrambled to get out of the way of them. 

"JUST DIE ALREADY!!!" the now-enraged youth yelled as he ran towards his target. Matt did a few back somersaults and leapt right down the opened skylight leading to the main area of the ship's interior. Just as he began his free-fall of twenty stories, he twirled around in midair, facing upwards at the skylight's opening.

Taking the few spare seconds, Marky quickly unclipped the two colts' ammo pouches and quickly thrust them against his waist, instantly inserting two more clips into them. 

"I'm going to make sure you eat lead, Kaizer!" he growled, rushing to the edge of the opened skylight and looking down.

Matt's eyes narrowed, and as he aimed both guns he was holding upwards, time once again seemed to slow down around him. He felt himself almost levitating in midair, slowly moving downwards as he kept normal speed, but everything else seemed almost to stop just for him. Aiming upward at his would-be killer, he suddenly noticed both Reo and Boom-Boom next to him. The pair also seemed to be in a free-fall, though Boom-Boom seemed to have the daggers in his fist just inches from the skin of Reo's neck.

Glancing back up at Marky as he peered down, he pointed his other hand toward Boom-Boom's wrist. Closing his eyes, he squeezed both triggers, letting out two shots from each gun.

Boom-Boom grabbed his wrist, howling in pain. The bullet hadn't torn through any crucial veins, but it had shattered the bones and ripped right through the muscle. Blood splattered down onto the floor, blackish-red and thick. Matt's other bullet grazed the side of Marky's face, leaving a shallow cut to bleed down his cheek. The blonde young man sank to his knees on the ground after setting his own guns back into their holsters, feeling lightheaded from the outpouring of new power as it flowed in his veins. Reo and Boom-Boom crashed onto another table, although Reo's fall was broken by Boom-Boom hitting the table first. 

"Kaiser-sama, you doing alright?" Lia asked, looking rather bored as she stood back from the fray, her dark wings folded around her shoulders. 

"Other than the fact that I'm so dizzy I can't see straight, I'm just ducky," he reciprocated bitterly. 

"Then I'll take care of Marky. You take a breather," she replied, cracking her knuckles, "It's about time I do something around here."

~*~

Wallace awoke that morning trying to discern whether or not the boy who had visited him that evening had been real or not. He glanced towards the back of the cell, noting that the little night-light was still there. But Vase himself had vanished. 

"Did I make him up? Or was he really there?" the blue-eyed boy murmured, hugging his knees to his chest. He wished Terriermon and Lopmon were with him, to comfort him and promise that everything would be okay. 

__

But it won't, he thought ruefully, _not as long as I'm still a prisoner here. _

He knew from the way the day went Bling would be along with his breakfast shortly, and the nightmare would continue from there, the Professionals working for Chah Chingg doing their little experiments on young Wallace, trying to make him submit. 

"Please come soon, Reo. I need you."

~*~

Shadder and Ground Zero were just coming around the corner, making their way to the conference room with the latest news from the cruise ship when they paused outside of Wallace's cell door. Vase was leaning against the metal door, his glasses far down the bridge of his nose, fast asleep. 

"Think he's been there all night?" Ground Zero asked softly. 

Shadder said nothing, only moving to pick him up, not even hesitating when he recalled what had happened the last time he touched the possessed boy. 

"Nobody woke him." Was all the larger man said, cradling the sleeping boy in his arms; Zero shrugged.

"Let him sleep." He said, "Mr. Chingg doesn't really care." And he continued down the hall, leaving Shadder as he set Vase down and took one last fleeting glance at the dark-haired boy huddled against the door, tossing his coat over the boy's shoulders and walking off. 

~*~

"How long has it been?" was all Chingg asked, leaning back in his chair and holding a smoking cigar. His figure was shadowed by the lack of sunlight that shone through his closed blinders. 

"The last transmission was made last night." Buzzkill answered, "Boom-Boom would have already contacted us by now if he was done with the job." He folded his legs in his chair, feeling his employer's piercing gaze.

"Not too sure about that runt you hired though."

"Marky is an efficient tool." Chingg said, "He's yet to foul up an assignment." He leaned forward on his desk slightly, sending a chill down Buzzkill's spine as he could see the angered look in his eyes.

"Though I've yet to say the same thing about Boom-Boom's work skills."

"Perhaps we need to send in a backup?" the lackey villain suggested. 

"Perhaps." Chingg said, rising from his chair and turning around to face his window, "But they're not our main focus."

"Afraid of wasting money on someone?" Buzzkill smirked; Chingg just glanced back at him.

"I never waste money, Haggard." He said, turning back around and opening a crack in his blinders, peering out.

"It's such a lovely vision, isn't it?" he asked, Buzzkill just shrugged.

"You made this city possible."

"I gave them faith." Chingg said, "I could take it all away on a whim." He tapped the end of his cigar, spilling the ashes in a metal tray that stood next to him, "What about the boy?"

"Slowly." Was Buzzkill's answer, "The next phase should start soon though."

"Good." Buzzkill rose from his chair.

"I'll have a report by tonight." He said, and he walked towards the large office's door.

"Haggard." He stopped just at the doorknob, hearing his name spoken.

"If this fails, I WILL hold you responsible."

Buzzkill felt a lump form deep within his throat.

"Right." 

~*~

Matt coughed, holding his head in his hands. His head spun violently, and his already weak stomach could hardly take more abuse this evening. Through vertigo-hazed eyes he watched Lia, fighting like a demon with Marky. The little brunette boy had opted for hand-to-hand combat with the girl, and it amused Matt to think that such a sensitive young woman could so easily rend that child limb from limb without much thought. 

"What's wrong, Angel-Whore? Can't fire a gun like a man?" the little assassin mocked, foolishly taunting her. "That's right, you need your big, strong hero to protect you."

"Speak to me like that again and I'll pull your tongue right from your mouth and feed it to the seagulls!" she snapped, blocking his fist. 

Marky ducked as she returned one of his punches, scooping a discarded gun from the floor and popping a cartridge in with one fluid motion. The young Kaiser quickly glanced at Reo, who was still combating with Boom-Boom and far too preoccupied with his own matters to look after the youngest member of the team. 

"I hope you know it takes more than a few bullets to kill an angel, even a fallen one," she smirked, tossing negative energy in one hand and catching it as though she grasped a tennis ball. 

"I know what I'm up against, stupid cow. You think the Professionals would hire somebody who couldn't handle the job?" 

Matt's hand went to his holsters, cocking a gun. But he couldn't shoot what he couldn't see, and at the moment everything was just a colorful blur. 

"Oh, and you know what else, Miss Angel?" Marky said, licking his lips as he held the gun upwards. "As soon as your blood's clotted cold in your veins, I'll take your lovely little Kaiser and you know what I'll do?" 

Lia's eyes widened as he mouthed something to her. "You bastard. I'll f***ing kill you if you touch him."

"I'd like to see you try."

~*~

T.K. stirred at his oatmeal halfheartedly, feeling sick at the sight of it. His cheerful disposition had vanished, and storm clouds loomed over the Takaishi household. Nancy worried about her younger son, trying to keep him occupied, but she knew his thoughts were on his elder brother and whether he was all right, or even alive. Very few people knew the truth about where the three teenagers had vanished to, and those that did said nothing. Lia's younger sister, who happens to be T.K.'s age, confronted him in the hall not long ago; the same smoldering look Lia would occasionally get clear in the younger face. 

__

"It's your goddamn brother's fault my sister's gone!"

"No! Matt wouldn't…he just…not him. Not my brother."

She looked as if she was about to slap him. "Why else would Lia go?" 

"I don't know! For all I know it was she who made my brother leave!"

"Lia loves our family too much to just leave, and now I have her f***ing digimon following me everywhere! I hope your family goes to hell!"

He stared idly at the guitar in the corner. It had taken much whining to get his father to part with Matt's bass, to let T.K. hold onto it. Malcolm Ishida had told him that Matt left so quickly he didn't even realize he wasn't carrying his most prized possession, the guitar he loved so much. 

"I miss you, Onii-chan. Come home soon," he murmured. 

"T.K., crying into your oatmeal isn't going to make it taste good you know!" Patamon chirped. 

"Whatever."

~*~

Reo and Boom-Boom bounded off the walls of the main hall in the ship. The hyperactive ninja quickly throwing knives and grenades over and over again, while Reo was doing all he could to bounce them away as he swung his scythe.

Quickly approaching the ground, he slammed his foot onto the ground as he landed, just in time to see his adversary screaming as he dove at him. He barely had time to react as a swarm of grenades flew toward him, exploding all around him. 

"DAMMIT!" the ground beneath him suddenly disappeared, and the last thing Reo saw before falling through was Boom-Boom's psychotic eyes, gleaming as he dove at him. With a mid-air tackle, the Professional's strong arms wrapped tightly around Darkscythe's waist. Shrapnel and metal just missed grazing Reo's face as they fell, and he quickly reached his hand out, hoping to grab hold of anything to stop his descent. 

With a sudden jerk, he found himself hanging from a busted pipe. Breathing heavily, he looked beneath him to see Boom-Boom still clutching to his foot.

"You crazy or something?!" he spat, "If you blow up this whole place, we're BOTH gonna go down with this damn ship!"

Boom-Boom's eyes just gleamed wickedly, "You don't see me trembling, do you?" he asked, "I been in more scraps than you'd ever believe, little boy."

"I happen to be 17 years old, Dumbass!" Reo yelled back down at him, "Why not get that through yer f***in' head first before addressing me as 'Little Boy' ?!"

"Don't think it's gonna matter in a few seconds…" the Professional grinned, and two knives appeared clutched in his hand. Panicking, Reo looked all around in hopes of finding his weapon.

"Whatsa matter?" he could hear Boom-Boom saying, "Afraid of death?" Reo groaned as he began to climb up his leg, seemingly pulling his leg from out of its socket. 

"It ain't all that bad, kiddo." He smiled, wrapping his legs around Reo's waist, cutting off his air, "From what I seen, you don't last too long."

The Professional's hand suddenly wrapped around his neck, his hand moving back and drawing both knives ready. Reo suddenly spotted something out of the corner of his eyes: his beloved Lemon Scythe, lying among some of the wreckage from the explosion. 

Water began rushing onto his head from the damaged pipes and plumbing of the ship, getting into his eyes and blurring his vision.

"I'll be sure t' let yer little Wallace know you weren't nothin', boy." He hissed, "Of course, this'll be while I'm killin' im' slowly'." He chuckled evilly, sparking Reo's anger. Suddenly, the Infamous jerked his head back. Boom-Boom raised an eyebrow in confusion, only to realize what was about to happen.

Reo's head came forward quickly, smashing against the Professional's face. Over and over again, he continually rammed his head into Boom-Boom's. Finally, it looked like the both of them were about to lose consciousness when Boom-Boom suddenly slipped off of him, free-falling through the massive hole to the next two floors of the ship.

"I really hate him…" Reo sighed, still hanging from the broken pipe. 

~*~

Marky reeled back as the palm of Lia's gloved hand connected with his nose, which broke almost instantly. He cursed loudly, wiping the blood from his face and continuing to pepper the winged girl with bullets, which she nimbly dodged with little effort. This was another ironic twist in Lia's character that Matt found amusing. In everyday life his girlfriend was a klutz, simple and true. But when her wings spread wide from her shoulders did she move with fluid poise, even if it was before punching someone's nose in. Speaking of Matt, our young Kaiser had finally recovered from his episode of double vision, though he continued to play spectator to the sparring match before him. 

Her step faltered for a moment, giving Marky ample time to wrench one beautifully long charcoal pinion from her body, pulling it until it ripped out with a disgusting tearing sound. Lia shrieked in pain, Matt's finger immediately easing back the trigger of his gun. Her eyes widened as a flash of something crossed her mind for a split second, fragments of past, present, and of things yet to come. 

"_NO!" _The Fallen Angel screamed, hurling a thunderous bolt of energy. It struck Marky in the chest, sending him careening into the back wall, where he crumpled. 

"Tie him up and throw him in the cargo bay. That should keep him out of our hair for now," she ordered to a thunderstruck Kaiser. He nodded dumbly, executing the former of the command. 

"Let's go find Reo, I've got my own bad feeling," he murmured, taking her arm. 

~*~

"So what made you snap like that back there? All of a sudden you just…" Matt's voice trailed off as he tossed a ninja overboard. 

"I'm not quite sure, actually," Lia replied, crushing another lackey's spinal cord as he hit the railing, "Part of it was what Marky said about you, which cannot be repeated without making this an NC-17 story."

"I kind of got that impression…do you mind? We're trying to have a conversation!" Another ninja went flying.

"And part of it was a vision I had right before I zapped that kid. Really disturbing."

Matt's eyes narrowed behind his violet glasses. 

"Like how? Death, destruction, something of the lemon variety?"

Lia shook her head, "No. I saw…I saw Gedriel."

~*~

Wallace screamed in agony, foaming at the mouth as the surgeons' scalpels tore into his vulnerable body again. He should have been used to such torment by now, but every time the pain grew more and more excruciating. The bright lights and the sterile whiteness burned his eyes as he lay helpless, strapped to the operating table. 

"Nurse, why wasn't this boy sedated more? He's still conscious."

"I'm sorry, Doctor, any more would have certainly killed him."

"Oh well. It saves on the medical fund." The surgeon shrugged, and resumed his work on the poor boy. Hours crept by at an infinitesimal pace as the surgeons of the Professionals' Biotech unit added 'enhancements' to the child, their purpose to make the sweet young American into a cold-blooded killing machine.

Tears flowed down Wallace's cheeks as the torment continued, wordless screams tearing from his throat. As the lights faded into hazy darkness, he uttered the name of his love, praying some divine power to make him manifest and save him. 

Nobody knew he had been kidnapped, no one but those linked with the Alliance. And it was those three teenage vigilantes that all his faith was placed on, and the hope that goodness would still persevere.

****

~*~

It was dark. 

Not that it bothered him; he was used to it. In fact, you could say he welcomed it, why else would he be the way he is? The atmosphere surrounding Reo as he stepped carefully through the garage near the bottom of the ship was nothing but dead air. Usually, were he in the company of others, his mouth would be spewing obscenities, sexual innuendo, and possibly every other piece of offensive material there is to think of. 

This was different. 

He said nothing, only calmly stepping through the dimly lit garage of cars. Approaching his own SUV, he looked around cautiously for a moment. Sensing nobody's presence, he opened the door of the vehicle. 

"Almost forgot this…" he said to himself, reaching into the glove compartment and pulling out a small picture. Quickly placing it in his coat, he next grabbed a carton of cigarettes that lay on his seat. His eyes slowly scanned across the garage as he brought a match to one of the cigarette in his mouth. 

Exhaling a cloud of smoke, he reached behind him and grabbed one last object; a small canister that was filled with a clear liquid. 

As he shut the door to the SUV, a quick chill ran over the back of his neck. His head quickly perked up, smoke escaping through his nostrils.

"Shoulda ran off, kiddo…" a familiar voice said grimly, "Now ya's gotta die bad." 

Reo said nothing though, still enjoying the pleasure of his cigarette. Calmly, he cocked his neck to the right, letting it pop, then slowly moved his neck into the other direction, popping it in that place as well.

"I'm game, boowie." He finally said, exhaling one last time. His hand raised, suddenly flicking his cigarette upward.

In a flash, Boom-Boom rushed out of a shadowed corner of the garage in a mad dive toward him. This was all Reo needed as he suddenly held out his right hand, his trusty Lemon Scythe extending outward.

"Smile for me." 

The edge of Reo's scythe gave a clean, swift swipe right through his neck.

The Infamous One twirled his scythe around before positioning it over his shoulder. Boom-Boom's body smacked against the side of the SUV door, his head landing at the base of his feet. 

Shadows formed around his feet as he sank into the darkness, just as the cigarette he had tossed moments prior landed on Boom-Boom's body.

"Nice try…"

~*~

"Ugh," Matt groaned, sliding his glasses from the bridge of his nose and wiping his tearing eyes, "Disgusting."

"Hmm?" Lia asked, playing with a lock of hair. 

"Can't you smell that?" 

She shook her head, "No. What is…oh, yeah, now I do. Smells like burning flesh."

They coughed, the smoke searing at their eyes and noses. Matt's gloved hand tentatively sought hers, and together they trudged blindly through the haze. It hadn't taken them long to find the gaping hole in the ship's deck, and even less time to find traces of the fight strewn about the rubble. 

Something jumped out of the shadows, a black figure, most likely armed. The Kaiser drew his gun, cocking it with assurance and standing to protect the woman clinging to his arm. 

"Put that down, kid. You're liable to shoot someone, namely me!" 

Matt breathed a sigh of relief, sliding his weapon back into its holster. Lia's grip on his arm loosened. 

"I'm no kid, Reo, I'm just as old as you," he replied, wiping at his eyes again. 

"What's that smell? Oh, it smells like somebody _died," _Lia gagged, hand clasped over her nose and mouth. 

"Yes, that would be the case, now wouldn't it? Too bad for him, looks like he wore too many explosives." He said, indicating the large hole in the ship's deck.

"Whoa, wait a minute. You mean to tell us you just killed off one of the Professionals? That's dead Professional that's burning?" Matt interrogated.

"So? As long as they've been taken care of, I'm peachy. Did you or did you not kill the little pimple?" 

Lia nodded, examining her wings where the little brown-haired rifleman tore out a large chunk of feathers.

"Nailed Marky myself. Not dead, but stunned enough to leave us be for now. But as for being done for the night, I doubt that. I have a suspicion that we won't be sleeping well tonight."

"With you and him making so much noise I didn't think I would anyway," Reo muttered under his breath. 

"Let's go, Alliance. I've had enough excitement to last me for a while," Matt sighed, pocketing his glasses. 

"I think this is only the beginning of it," Lia murmured, taking one more glance down the hall, where Boom-Boom's now incinerated remains lay smoldering.

She glanced at Reo's back, feeling a shudder as she brought her arms around her and folded her wings close to her. She had never seen him this cold; perhaps losing Wallace really was something he couldn't handle… 

~*~

An ocean away, the Digidestined were gathering for their weekly meeting in the park. Morality was at an all-time low, and Odaiba's crime rate had soared. 

"Well gang, it's another Tuesday," Tai stated dejectedly. 

"Tai, enough beating around the bush! You and everybody else here miss Matt, Lia and Wallace, just say it! They've barely been gone any time and we're all falling apart because of it!" Joe shouted, slamming his fist down on a picnic table. 

Sora started crying softly. "What if they never come back?"

"They have to! They're our friends!" Davis said stubbornly, tensely gripping Ken's arm. 

"We don't even know why they left. Why hope for the best when we already know the worst?" Yolei muttered. 

"Enough!" Kari screamed. "Everybody just _stop! _So we're down three teammates, so what? We've had far greater divisions when there were just eight of us, or even before I was a Digidestined and it was just seven! 

"The point is, we've got to stop sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves because that makes us vulnerable to the darkness! They're fine, we're fine, everything will be all right in the end."

"Kari's right," Cody added. "We're still a team, no matter how great a distance."

"We are never broken," Ken said to himself, folding his arms.

__

To Be Continued…


End file.
